Dadri, Uttar Pradesh:
The mob killing of a Muslim man over beef rumours in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri, barely 50 kilometers from the national capital, is being cited as yet another paradox where a modern India is fighting deep-rooted social prejudices.
This tension between two very different Indias is evident on the ground. Dadri is barely 15 kilometers from Greater Noida, Delhi's satellite township that boasts of having India's only Formula One racing track. Both Dadri and Greater Noida are a part of the National Capital Region (NCR).Yet, they seem like two different worlds.
As you drive down the eight-lane Greater Noida Expressway and cross high-rise buildings and gated communities to reach Dadri's Bisada village - now the centre of a political debate - you almost seamlessly move from order to chaos.
Bumpy roads, traffic bottleneck created by an under-construction flyover at the Dadri railway crossing and diesel exhausts from vehicles mixed with dust flying all around just add to the sense of indiscipline.
At this Rajput dominated village, that is not familiar with such national attention, media and outsiders are not welcome.
Sunil Rana, who runs a dhaba just outside the village, tells us why - "Villagers believe the media is getting everything done." After the arrest of seven youths from the area, there is almost a sense of "victimization" and the media is blamed for telling a "one-sided story". A group of villagers at Patadi, right next to Bisada, explain what could be behind this medieval killing so close to national India's capital.
"Here rumours are often believed to be true. People's mindsets are bound to be different... They have not seen any growth, while there is so much development in Delhi and Noida," says Shiv Kumar, a resident of the village.
The discourse is completely different in Greater Noida, just 15 kilometers away. Conceived as an investment destination for multinational companies - LG, Samsung, Hyundai and Honda all have factories here - Greater Noida stands out in terms of planning and infrastructure.
Well-maintained roads, landscaped public parks, a private golf course, top private schools and universities and healthcare facilities - everything symbolizes what an aspiring India stands for.
The township is also home to several retired bureaucrats. Anjan Ghosh, the former chief of Jammu and Kashmir police, who now stays in Greater Noida, says the concept of national capital region needs a relook. "NCR is a concept that is on paper. As soon you cross the border, you see how different policing is or how different the administration works," says Mr Ghosh. "Unless you have one single authority for the NCR, such disparities are bound to happen," he adds.
Father Sebastian, who runs a minority institution in Greater Noida, says the difference in development often conditions social behavior too.
"For people of Dadri, every day is a struggle - the struggle to live. Roads are not proper, power cuts are rampant, there is no proper school. Greater Noida has all the facilities. That makes them more aggressive and small issues become big for them," says Rev Sebastian, principal of Greater Noida's Jesus and Mary Convent School.
Whether you agree with him or not, there is no debating the fact that Greater Noida and Dadri exemplify two very different Indias coexisting side by side.